


Quest

by SasuNarufan13



Series: Wolf and His Sacrifice [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Descriptions of blood and fatal injuries, Future Slash, M/M, Minor Character Deaths, Sasuke's POV, Side story to The Sacrifice and The Sacrificed, Violence, Wolf Shifters, medievalish setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:55:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26532472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: Autumn has barely arrived when he feels it: the need to leave his home and find his mate.
Relationships: Minor Uchiha Itachi/Deidara, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Wolf and His Sacrifice [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1928206
Comments: 53
Kudos: 300





	Quest

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: I have no idea why my brain came up with this, but well, have it I suppose? This is the prequel to both The Sacrifice and The Sacrificed and gives you a glimpse of Sasuke's thoughts :) I hope you won't find it too boring or terrible!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this!

**Quest**

Autumn had barely arrived when he felt it: the need to leave his home and find his mate.

His older brother took one look at him and knew. "You're leaving," he stated, not even surprised by it.

Sasuke nodded, rolling his shoulders. "Yes, I need to go now."

"Say goodbye to mother and father first," Itachi advised him. "You don't know how long you'll be gone."

"Will do," the younger wolf promised and let Itachi pull him close to rest their foreheads together for a moment.

The second he arrived at his parents' den, mother looked up with a knowing look. "It's time?" she questioned, rising up from the nest and yawning. She must have been on the verge of dozing off, because she didn't appear as alert as she usually was.

"Yes, I'm leaving now," he confirmed, glancing around the den. "Where's father?"

"Here." The older man came out one of the corridors, looking slightly more awake than his mate. "Be safe. Try to stay off the roads for the most part."

"I'm planning to," Sasuke reassured him and after getting patted on his back by father, he turned to embrace his mother.

She was smiling, her eyes glittering and she stood on her tiptoes to nuzzle his cheek. "Good luck with finding your mate. I'm certain whoever you'll choose, will be perfect. Stay safe."

He nuzzled her cheek in goodbye and slipped out of the den, inclining his head to some cousins of his who were going about their day.

Arriving at the gates, he was ready to shift into his wolf form when Itachi's mate, Deidara, appeared next to him. He had chosen for his larger form today, instead of his regular Fae height. His skin remained glowing; a trait which betrayed his true nature no matter which form he took.

Deidara regarded him with one eyebrow raised and his arms crossed. He'd donned a light purple robe today, because he only allowed Itachi to view him naked and had threatened to strike anyone down who thought they could take a peek at him. Even as a wolf shifter, everybody knew they wouldn't be a match against an enraged Fae and so nobody bothered him about insisting on remaining dressed.

Not that they would have bothered him about it, anyway, even without the threat. Respect was necessary when living together in such a large group and anyone found to be disrespecting someone would face a punishment or worse, exclusion if they insisted on being bothersome.

"Do not tell me you were planning on leaving without saying goodbye, un," Deidara said reproachfully, pursing his lips. His long, blond hair was done up in a high ponytail and had several tiny gems woven through the strands.

"I thought we were all not to bother you before the sun had reached its highest peak?" Sasuke remarked amused.

"So you remember that rule when it is convenient to you, hm?" Deidara said unimpressed. "Rest assured, if the brother of my mate departs on a journey to find his life mate, I do like to be warned of that."

"I'll keep that in mind for the next time," Sasuke smirked.

"You're a menace, un," Deidara sniffed and tilted his head to the left slightly. "I feel it might be a while before we will meet again." His eyes gained a distant sheen to them, like a filter of water sliding across them.

After all these years Sasuke still wasn't certain whether the Fae was capable of seeing the future or not, though his words tended to carry a grain of truth to them.

"If that means I'll find my mate, it's a price I'm willing to pay," he said, stretched one more time and then allowed the shift to take over, letting his bones break, twist, and mould into those of his wolf form; fur sprouting where bare skin just had been, his face elongating, fangs sharpening and growing.

He fell down on all fours, inhaling the fresh forest air and the sugary sweetness he had come to associate with Deidara.

"Keep your safety in mind, for finding your mate won't do much if it leads to you being killed, un," Deidara warned him.

Sasuke regarded him carefully, wondering if this was some sort of premonition again, but when he spotted nothing but a faint frown, he decided the caution came from Deidara's concern for him as a packmate and not as an actual forewarning of what may happen in the future.

"I'm not a cub anymore, Deidara," he told him lightly. "I'll be fine. Next time I cross these gates, I won't be alone."

Deidara reluctantly smiled. "Blessed be," he murmured.

He remained watching at the gates as Sasuke bounded off, taking his first steps which would lead him to finding his mate.

No matter how long it would take, he would find his mate. That, he was sure about.

* * *

He avoided the well-used roads for the most part, not eager to come across humans. They appeared to be expanding their territory more and more, considering the vast amount of roads and ploughed fields he came across on his journey, making him pull back his lips in disgust.

At the rate they were going, soon there would be no place left for Mother Nature to flourish and he dreaded the arrival of that day. Already he noticed that the forests had grown smaller, their trees being cut down to aid the ever growing greed of the humans.

It made him even more determined to avoid the roads, lest he'd be tempted to attack one of them in retaliation for destroying nature. Naturally that didn't stop him from stealing the occasional chicken or even one of the sheep, because he still needed to eat and he might as well take something back to make up for what they had stolen.

His journey took him through thick forests, along long winding rivers and empty fields. It took him three weeks to leave the mountain area behind him and with it, his home for twenty years so far. He would be back, however, of that he was sure. He didn't know yet how long it would take to see those beautiful mountains again, but it would happen.

There was a tug in his lower belly, one which guided him through the ever changing scenery to his mate. Itachi had spoken of the Tug before and had tried his best to explain it to his confused younger brother. About how it felt like a hook was constantly pulling you along, only allowing you to rest every once in a while. An innate desire that would guide you to the one who was best suited to be your mate. Ignoring it would be foolish and could leave you wandering through the country for years on end, trying to find that one being who could make you complete.

Follow the Tug, however, and you would eventually be granted the presence of your mate.

Sasuke hadn't really understood it back then, when Itachi had tried to explain it. Had been rather disturbed by the mental image of a hook tugging him along, forcing him to follow, because what if he didn't want to follow it? What if he wasn't interested in having a mate?

Itachi had laughed, bumping their noses together. _"You'll know when you're ready,"_ he had spoken confidently. _"And when you're ready, you'll want nothing more than to find your mate."_

He would be annoyed at how knowing his older brother had sounded, but he had turned out to be right in the end. Now, counting twenty summers, he was focused on following the Tug, anticipating the moment he would find out who his mate was. He had no idea what to expect, what kind of being it would be, female or male, but that didn't matter. All he had to do was follow his instinct and trust in it.

Trust in the Tug and he would be rewarded; that was the thought he clung to and which drove him further and further away from his den each day.

* * *

He never stayed long in one place. None of the places he travelled through felt right and so he only spent at most a few hours there, to catch up on sleep and eat a bit. Then he was gone again, roaming through the thick woods, watching autumn slowly change into winter.

The snow and cold harsh winds kept him in his wolf form; his fur protecting him from the harsh elements. He hadn't changed out of this form in more than two months now, finding it easier to travel on four instead of two legs. This wasn't the first time that he had spent so long in his wolf form; back at the den it was normal to shift between two forms, lingering longer in one than the other, depending on what felt comfortable the most at that moment.

Travelling as a wolf through the wintery forest was decidedly easier than trying to make the journey in his human form, quicker as well. The faster he could make the journey, the sooner he would meet his mate.

That was all that drove him nowadays, this instinctive need to find his mate, to discover who was best suited for him. Sometimes, at night, when he lied curled up in the roots of a tree, listening to the wind howling above him, he wondered whether his first meeting would go just as smooth as Itachi's had been with Deidara. As someone belonging to the Other World, Deidara hadn't been surprised when Itachi had shown up in his wolf form and had merely asked him what had taken him so long.

Would his mate be some otherworldly being as well? Time would tell.

* * *

He'd been travelling for five months when spring started cautiously inching its way into the country. The snow started to melt and the first spring birds filled the fresh air with their songs, eager to welcome the warm weather.

He had to sneak around villages for several days and nights in a row, the open area making him antsy, wanting to find the cover of the trees as soon as possible.

When he did encounter a new forest, he became instantly aware of how different his one felt, more welcoming and far less oppressive than the others had been. It was a strange observation to make, considering how close a village was situated to the woods, and yet, he found himself lingering here, inhaling the fresh spring air, meandering through the trees and the bushes as opposed to rushing through them.

He drank water from a small stream, enjoying the coolness of it, and then continued on; his ears swivelling back and forth, ready to pick up even the tiniest of sounds, but otherwise he was fairly relaxed for the first time in months it felt like. For some reason this forest had a sense of rightness to it, almost like home, and he found himself reluctant to depart and continue his journey.

So he didn't.

Instead he walked around until he discovered a cave system deep within the woods with several tunnels, of which a couple ran together in one big cavern. There was a hole in the ceiling, so high up it was barely visible, and he thought absently that this would make a good spot to create a fire inside without being bothered by the smoke. Not that he was in need of creating a fire when his fur kept him warm enough, but it was an interesting find.

He decided to make this cave his temporary home, wanting to find out just what it was about these woods that formed such an attraction to him, and when he went hunting to eat, he used the furs of his prey to create a makeshift nest. It didn't smell as comfortable as his actual nest at his den, but for now he would make do.

The cave offered a nice hiding place where he could sleep without being disturbed and there was plenty of prey to be found in the surrounding area, together with at least two streams nearby. He wouldn't want for food or water at least, which made his stay a lot easier.

He noticed early on that the humans from the nearby village came relatively deep into the woods in order to hunt. He didn't care for them and was content to leave them be as long as they didn't bother him. They seemed to be likeminded in that regard, as they left him alone whenever they did manage to catch a glimpse of him, which wasn't very often considering he made sure to keep out of sight whenever he heard them.

It was when he was trying to catch a particular elusive scent one afternoon that the humans decided to break the status quo.

He crept underneath the bushes, but kept his nose in the air, trying to figure out where the strange spicy scent was coming from that had been taunting him for nearly an hour now. It was very faint, almost unnoticeable, but it had still been strong enough to lure him out of his cave as he attempted to find the source of it.

The scent frustrated him with how elusive it was being, leading him further away from the cave than he had been so far. It wasn't the scent of a prey, that much he knew, but what exactly it was he had a hard time deciding.

The noise of humans nearby – three, male, rather large from how much noise they were making as they walked around – had him stilling, keeping himself pressed low against the ground. He could see them walking around from between the twigs of a berry bush, the humans lumbering around with some kind of axe in their hand. Were they here to chop wood?

"Think we have enough wood?" one of the humans asked, looking to be the youngest with barely any silver in his hair yet.

"Should be," the second one, balding, replied, swinging the axe over his shoulder. "Not like we need to prepare for winter still."

"True," the last one replied. He had a large belly as if he had been eating more than his share throughout his life. "We can go back then."

"You go back, I'm going to walk around a bit longer. My twisted ankle finally healed and I need to walk around after being cooped up in the house," the first one said, waving at the other two when they just shrugged and turned around to leave.

Sasuke remained underneath the bush, watching with narrowed eyes how the human looked around thoughtfully as if he was searching for something.

"Thought I saw it around here somewhere," the human muttered, swinging his axe idly back and forth.

Slowly, silently, Sasuke started crawling backwards, not interesting in staying here any longer now that the mysterious scent had completely dissipated. He'd return to the cave and finish eating the deer he'd hunted down this morning.

"Got you!"

An axe suddenly embedding itself into the ground right in front of his snout had him growling warningly and when he sharply looked up, he stared straight into the triumphant eyes of the human, who grappled for his axe to take another swing at him.

Sasuke snarled and snapped his teeth at the human, giving him one last warning. The idiot just laughed, seemingly excited by what he thought would be a hunt, and raised the axe high up in the air.

That stupid grin was still on his face when Sasuke jumped up and clamped his teeth around his neck, tearing at the skin viciously. Blood sprayed through the air like a morbid waterfall and the axe was dropped when the human clutched with both hands at his neck in a pathetic attempt to stem the bleeding. As if there was still a chance of that happening.

The human stumbled backwards, but Sasuke simply jumped up again and used his weight to slam him down, tearing at his chest next, using his sharp teeth to bite through the skin and tough muscle, tearing it away as easily as if it was a leaf. The human gurgled something, his eyes wide with terror, but the sounds of ribs cracking and splintering apart was far louder, drowning out the chirping of the birds.

Sasuke left as soon as he noticed the human had died, leaving him torn apart behind with his now useless axe lying next to him. Let he be a warning to any other human foolish enough to try to attack him.

* * *

Foolish they turned out to be, because after the first one, he encountered several others, all intent on trying to attack him. They appeared to consider him as a sort of trophy, eager to kill him and skin him for his fur.

They were idiots, all of them, too eager to attack, leaving gaping openings behind that he easily took advantage of. One human after the other got torn apart, ripped open, sliced through until they bled out and he only became more and more annoyed as he tried to figure out just why he kept staying in this forest.

He was reluctant to leave, even with the humans attacking him, and he kept reminding himself that he needed to trust the Tug. Surely there must be a reason why it had led him to this forest and so he was determined to stay here, getting rid of the pesky humans whenever they became too courageous.

He must have killed six or seven of them by the time one of them was smart enough to not attack him. The human was male again and was trembling like a leaf in an autumn storm, looking so pale he appeared ready to lose consciousness any second now.

Sasuke regarded him coolly. "Leave and never return," he growled, gnashing his teeth together.

If possible, that made the man trembling even harder and he squeaked out, "Y-you c-can talk?"

"Yes, and I can do a whole lot more if your town doesn't stop attempting to harm me," Sasuke retorted, raising up to his full length. His upper lip curled up in a sneer when the unmistaken scent of piss filled the air between them, the human having lost control of his bladder in his fear.

_Pathetic._

"I – I – wh-what do you w-want?" the human stammered; his brown eyes wide with terror.

Sasuke smirked darkly, his amusement increasing when he smelt just how terrified the human was. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he grumbled and turned around, meandering back to his cave, leaving the human to either pass out or return to his village.

He didn't care.

* * *

He had almost forgotten the encounter with the human, uninteresting as it had been in the end, when a human voice called out to him the next morning, the voice deep and steady even with the undercurrent of tension running through it.

Intrigued in spite of himself, he got up, stretched his paws, and made his way through the tunnels to meet the human courageous enough – or stupid enough – to confront him at his own den.

It was a man with silvery white hair who met him, dressed in some kind of uniform. There was a dagger strapped to his hip, but his hand was nowhere close to it. They surveyed each other carefully for a moment and Sasuke saw no need to downplay his size, standing up on his hind legs. He knew his form was intimidating and this time was no exception, for even though the human didn't so much as twitch, he couldn't hide the nervous scent he started expelling the second Sasuke had risen to his full height.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked lowly, narrowing his eyes. If this human thought he could take him on, he would be sorely mistaken. One more human dead or not wouldn't matter to him.

"I'm a messenger, sent by the village of Konoha. I have been sent here to ask you what your demands are," the human said, keeping himself still.

"My demands?" Sasuke repeated silkily. Now this was getting unexpectedly interesting.

"Yes, your demands. What do you want in order for you to stop killing the people of my village?"

It burnt on the tip of Sasuke's tongue to say that he had only started to kill them because they wouldn't leave him alone, but he had also never been one to look a given horse in the mouth. If they were willing to give him anything he wanted in exchange for being left alive, who was he to snub them then? He might as well see how far they were willing to go in order to keep him appeased.

No need for them to know he wasn't settling permanently here; that was only his business.

However, there wasn't anything he could think of at the moment that he really wanted to have – save for his mate, but the village could hardly help him with that and there was definitely no way he would ever tell humans such sensitive information.

Still, he was curious and so he replied, "Give me a sacrifice of your choosing. Should it be adequate enough, I will cede killing your people unless in self-defence."

* * *

_The scent was back._

His eyes snapped open the second the alluring scent curled up in his nostrils and he jumped up with a snarl, every cell in his body vibrating it felt like, urging him to leave the den and go out there, there where the scent was!

He rushed through the tunnels faster than he had done before and was only vaguely aware of the retreating footsteps of two humans, who seemed to be running away from his den; their fear stinking up the air. Dawn had only just started, he noted absently, the sun not having had enough time yet to warm up the world, but he did not care.

For all his attention was drawn towards the form lying motionlessly on the ground, just a few feet away from the opening of the cave. And there it was, _the scent_.

Spicy like the special peppers Deidara sometimes brought from his trips to his World, warm like the fire during the cold winters, fresh like the cold water bubbling in the creeks. There were hints of citrus, of honey and apple, of roses and lilies, all wrapped up in a deeper underlying scent, one which screamed out _home_ and _family_ to him and –

_Mate._

He was next to the unconscious human before one could blink, sniffing at him urgently. Yes, the scent was definitely coming from him! Here, his mate was finally: hair as golden as the bright summer's sun, skin smooth and soft, his mouth coloured like he'd kissed a pink rose. He was only dressed in a thin shirt and thin trousers, his feet bare for some reason, and he looked rather young, though how old Sasuke couldn't exactly say. If pressed to answer, he would estimate that the human boy – because he was definitely a boy, the lack of breasts and the presence of a vague outline of the bulge in his trousers confirmed that – could be around sixteen to eighteen years, but not much older than that.

But all that didn't matter.

What mattered was that his quest was finally over. What mattered was that after travelling for six months, he had finally found his mate. What mattered was that the Tug hadn't betrayed him and he'd done well in following it.

Bones shifted and cracked and bend for the first time in six months, fangs retreating to human sized ones. Fur retreated, slipping back underneath pale skin, and claws changed back to human nails. He blinked and considered his human form for a moment, stretching out his fingers and his toes, humming when the early spring wind caressed his bare skin.

Then he bent down and picked up the boy, his _mate_ , and smiled, nuzzling his temple. "Guess humans aren't so idiotic after all," he murmured and carried him into the cave, their den.

He couldn't wait for his lovely mate to wake up and get to know him better.

His quest was finally over.

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> AN2: Random, I know, but my brain is in a rather random mood this year, it appears. I hope it wasn't too bad!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> I hope to see you all back in my future stories! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


End file.
